Performance analysis and improvement of the battery thermal management system based on topology-optimized cold plates using sCO2 as coolant

The combination of high-efficiency coolant and advanced flow channel design can effectively address the growing heat dissipation requirements of lithium-ion batteries. This study systematically evaluates the performance of a battery thermal management system employing topologically optimized liquid cooling plate (T-LCP) and supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO2) under high-rate discharge conditions. A detailed comparison with a water-cooled system is performed, focusing on temperature regulation and flow resistance. The results demonstrate that replacing water with sCO2 enhances the heat dissipation of the T-LCP by at least 37% across various configurations while reducing the pressure drop by 80%. Additionally, the maximum temperature and temperature difference decreased by at least 3.3 K and 4.5 K, respectively. Following a tenfold increase in mass flow rate, the heat transfer coefficient of the sCO2-based T-LCP rises by 35%, while the pressure drop decreases by 50.3% compared to water, demonstrating a cost-effective enhancement of sCO2's heat exchange capacity. Further research reveals that reducing the size of the sCO2-based T-LCP lowers the maximum temperature to 308.89 K and the maximum temperature difference to 3.28 K, significantly improving temperature control performance. In summary, combining topological optimization with sCO2 cooling can further improve system cooling performance and reduce energy consumption.